Can heading and sealing machine



N. TROYER. CAN'HEADING AND SEALING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 22, l9l8.

1,400,391 Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

F EI- INVENTOR N915 an Trqyer- BY W M A ORNEY N. TROYEH.

CAN HEADING AND SEALING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 22, 1-918.

1,400,391. Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

5 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Nelsun Trnyer.

N.TROYER.

CAN HEADING AND SEALING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, ms.

1,400,391. Pat nted 1060.13, 1921.

' 5 SHEEISSHEET 3. F5 3. 3

INVENTOR I 1 Nelson "l"1'i: ly "-v I N'. TROYER.

CAN HEADING AND SEALING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22; I918.

1,400,391. Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

5 SHEETSSHEET 4.

INVENTOR N915 Ell'l Truyer- ATT NEY N. TROYER.

CAN HEADING AND SEALING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 22, 1-918- 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- I "INVENTOR Nelson "Prayer; 5,44 3 ORNEY Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NELSON TROYER, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR T SEATTLE-ASTORIA IRON WORKS, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A. CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON.

CAN HEADING AN D SEALING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

Application filed oetober 22, 1918- Serial No. 259,210.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, NELSON Tnornn, a citizen of the United States, andresident of the a machine or doing this work which will com-' no, u

- found in each.

: rapidity of operation together with a minivention embodied the line 3- 3 of Fig. 1.-

city of Seattle, county of King, and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful linllprovements in Can Heading and generally used.

The ob'ect of my invention is to produce a bine the advantages found in difierent types of machines while eliminating disadvantages One object of my invention is to use a steady and continuously moving feed move- -ment for the filled cans until the caps may be placed thereon and locked in place, and then to employ, to seam the caps down, a

seaming mechanism which has an intermittent feed for the cans and fixedly positionedbeading mechanisms.

The ultimate object of this is to secure mum wastage of the contents of the cans. The parts and combinations of parts which I consider novel and upon which I desire patent protection will be defined by the claims which terminate this specification.

The accompanying drawings show my into use. I

' Figure 1 isa plan view of the machine.

-Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken. [through the axes of the seaming turrets, this being indicated by the brolren line 2-2 of is a sectional elevation taken upon Fig. .4; is a sectional plan view taken on the irregular broken line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. '2; Y Y 4' Fig. 6 is a"section taken on the line 6-6 of ig'. 7 is a plan view showing the valve control for thesuction air used in handling the caps.

in the form which prefer Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of I Fig. 3.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11, are diagrams illustrating successive steps in the placing of the caps upon the filled cans.

As a result of practical experiments, it has been found that the seaming operation for securing the head of a can, may be performed with a simpler mechanism and more rapidly, if the can, during the seaming operation, remains in a fixed position. This means that there must be an intermittent forward movement of the can before and after this seaming operation, and if the can be given such a movement as this after filling and before the head is in place, it will result in slopping the liquid contents out of the can.

' By reason of this fact great objection has arisen to the use of can capping or heading machines in'which the feeding movement of the can, prior to the securing of the head thereon, is intermittent. In such cases as where very liquid materials are canned, such for instance as puree of tomatoes, a considerable quantity of the. contents of the can is spilled out by the alternate starting and stopping of the cans, before it reaches the point where the cap is applied. This necessitates the employment of an operator to properly fill the can by hand, just prior to put-' ting'the cap in place, which results in an additional labor cost in addition to the loss of material. The value of the material thus wasted by slopping over, may and often does, reach and exceed one hundred dollars a day.

By my invention I.provide a continuous feed whlch acts upon the filled can until the cap has been placed thereon and locked, or temporarily secured to such an extent as to prevent spillin of the contents when subjected to the intermittent feeding action which is necessary in using a heading or beading machine such as I have indicated. After the cap or head has been thus secured in place it is fed to a sealing machine which employs an intermittent feed and which performs the sealing action at fixed points. By this expedient I avoid wastage of the material and also the labor cost of an operator 1 chine, is shown a. conveyor 1, which con- 110 veyer is of an endless belt type and upon which filled cans are placed and moved to- Secured upon the same shaft 40, asis the turret 4, is a head 5. This head has a series ward the operating parts of the machine. of cap lifting and conveying mechanisms In Fig. 4, which is a section taken upon 5 the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, cans C are shown in place uponthis .conveyer. At one side of this conveyer is placed a spacing conveyer or worm 10, the same consisting of a shaft having a conical helix thereon, which enters between successive cans and spaces them the right distance apart, and feeds them in synohron'ism with the feeding turret 2.

a The feeding turret 2 is of a standard type of construction such, for instance, as is shown in Patent No. 1,308,208, issued to me Juiy 1, 1919, and consists of a revolving head 2 which, in this case, is shown as having three arms and an outer guard wall 20, against which the outer surface of the 2 cans press as they are swept through their circular path by the action of the revolving turret 2, both the belt 1 and the turret 2 turning continuously at a uniform rate. Both of these are of a standard type of construction.

Mounted upon the shaft 22 which carries the turret'head 2, is a like head 21 shown in Fig. 1. Between the two is a plate 23 which is recessed to form a sha1low.shoul der 24, for the proper guidance of the outer edge ofthe cap or can head, H. The can heads H, are stacked within the space outlined by four upstanding bars 25. These are supported by resting upon a reciprocating plate 3, which plate is secured to a stem which is mounted to slide within guideways 31, and is actuated through the means of a crank arm 32 which is connected thereto by link 33 and is mounted upon a shaft 34, which is oscillated through any suitable means. The reciprocation of the plate 3 will cause the lowermostone of the stack of heads to be pushed outward to lie upon the plate 23 in position where it will be engaged by one of the arms or teeth of the rotating turret head 21.

The two turret heads, 2 and 21, are simiso t t the can head or cap is above in exact alinement with but separated from the filled canI Mounted alongside of the two turrets above described, is a third feeding device or turret 4, which is secured to and turns with the shaft 40. This has two rotative disks or turrets 4, as does also the other head have two of the disks 2.

These two turrets, 2 and 4, are so spaced that the path of movement of the cansby each of these, intersects at one point. bar or'inclosing guide 41 engages the outer sides of the cans during the movement caused by the turret 4. This extends into the path of movement of the turrets 2 so as to engage the can and insure transfer from one turret 65 to the other.

larlly; spaced upon. their common shaft 22,

shaft 51 and the cap-carrying foot 50.

which remove the caps as fed to it by the a turret 21, lifts them off of the plate 23, and carries them over the filled cans and then brings them down into place upon the cans. The table or plate 23, upon which the can tops are fed to this mechanism, is cut away as at 28, over the path of movement of the cans by the action of the head 4. The head 4 is shown as having four notches in its periphery, each adapted to receive a can.

Above and secured to maintain at all times accurate alinement with each of these notches and the cans contained therein, is placed one of the means for transferrin the cap from the plate 23 to the can an lacing it in position thereon to be secured. These mechanisms are best shown in F igs. 2 and 3.

Each one of these mechanisms employs a disk-like foot, 50, which is secured to shaft 51, which shaft is mounted to have'reciproeating movement in the revolving head 5. Shaft 51 is tubular and means are employed for exhausting the air from the inside thereof and from beneath the bottom of the foot 50, so as by vacuum or suction to lift'and hold a can head or cap while being transferred and applied to the can body. The tubular shaft 51 is mounted to turn freely without reciprocation within a member 52, which is mounted to have a limited vertical reciprocating movement within openings 53, formed in the lower part of the head 5.

At one side of the reciprocating sleeve on member 52, is a pin 57, which has thereon a cam roller 56 which runs in a cam groove 54, which extends about the periphery of a stationary head 55; In this way the non-rotating reciprocating sleeve 52 is caused to move up and down and with it is carried the rotating sleeve or shaft 51, upon the lower end of which is the foot 50 by which the can head is carried. 4

Upon the upper end of the rotative tubular shaft 51, is secured a pinion 45, which pinion gears with an idler pinion 46, which is carried by the rotative head 5. The pinion 46 meshes with a gear 58 which is secured to the stationary-head 55. The idler pinion 46 is long enough sothat the pinion 45 maintains mesh. therewith throughout its reciprocation. In consequence of this construction, the movement of the tubular shafts 51 about the head 55 causes a rotation of the tubular shaft 51. Also, the cam roller 56 engaging with the cam groove 54, causes a longitudinal reciprocation of the Each one of the pinions 45 has a stufiing box or gland 48, axially laced therein, through which passes a smal tube 47, which is secured by its upper end to a fixed arm 49, the latter having a chamber therein 130 which is also connected with an air exhaust pipe 39. This pipe 39 connects with a collar 38 which is secured to turn with the central shaft 40. This has ports 37 which extend to the upper surface of the collar and are in position to register with a port 59, in the lower end surface of the stationary head 55. The head 55 has an air passage 36 extending from this port 59 to its upper end and communicating with a. pipe 35 which leads to a pump or other means for exhausting the air. In consequence of this construction, the air would be intermittently and successively exhausted from the various tubular shafts 51 and thus from the lower surface of the feet 50 carried thereby, throughout a certain arc of. their path of travel.

This exhausting action is timed by the action of the cam roller 56 in its groove 54, so that the foot 50 is first brought down upon a cap H just before it gets to the notch 28 in the supporting plate 23. The cap is thus raised and carried by the foot 50 after it leaves the plate 23 and the downward movement of the foot given by the cam roller 56 brings it down, as is indicated in Figs. 10 and 11, until it first contactswith the contents 11, of the can, and presses these down, if they project above the level of the cans, asoften happens with fruit which floats rather high.

The lowermost position of the foot is shown in Fig. 11, in which the fruit has been pressed well down into the can and the cap is resting upon the upper edge of the can. This slow and gradual movement of the cap or head,-while being put in place upon the can, has no tendency to force the liquid contents up rapidly enough to cause any slopping over.

Just prior to the contact of the cap H with the upper end of the can, the rotating head 15, which is provided with notches of the size of the can and is so timed in! its turning that the notches therein will come exactly opposite the recess in the turret head 4, engages the can and compresses it enough to shape it into a truly circular form and accurately positions it, so that when the cap is brought down it will, with certainty, fit over the upper end of the can.

At this point the filled can has had its cap or head applied thereto but not secured thereon, in any manner excepfl as it is held down by the foot 50. The cans rest upon a revolving turntable 60, which is, however,

not positively rotated. However, the foot 50 is rotating all the time and when it is pressed firmly down upon the can the result will be, to rotate the can and through this, to the turn table 60, by which it is supported. These turn tables 60, of which four are employed in the machine illustrated, are

carried by a disk 61 which is secured to the shaft 40 and turns with it.

In moving through the circular path from this point on, the upper edge of the cap engages with a fixed arcuate bar 6, which is so placed and shaped that a material pressure is brought against the edge of the cap which is outermost, so that the edges of the cap are beaded under enough to engage the slight outward beading or flange which is placed upon the can bodies during the process of their manufacture. In conse quence, the cap is secured so that it will not come off. It is, however, not secured sufficiently well to seal the can. It is, however, secured sufliciently well to prevent any escape of the contents of the can when the same is given an intermittent forward feeding movement. The arcuate bar 6 thus serves as a preliminary beading or looking member for the can heads.

. As the cans are delivered by the rotative head 4 to the side opposite the shaping head 15, they are engaged by a finger 7 which switches them out into the feeding head or turrets 70 of the final heading or beading apparatus. This,beading apparatus is, or may be, of any suitable standard construction wherein the beading or sealing is performed at fixed points. Such a device is shown in my Patent No. 1,209,233, of December 19,1916. This has two beading or seaming heads located at.71. The mechanism for performing this beading operation, as stated, may be anything which is found suitable, and as the particular construction of this mechanism is immaterial I to my invention, its description in complete detail is not thought necessary.

The rotative feeding movement of the turret 70 is secured through the means of the notched disk 72, which is secured by a pin 74 carried by a continuously rotating disk or wheel 75. The sealed cans, as they reach that point, are engaged by the switch or finger 13 and are thus discharged upon the endless belt or conveyer 12.

It is believed that'the operation of this machine has been set forth, as it has beendescribed in sufiicient detail, so that a further description thereof is unnecessary. It is desired, however, to call attention to the relationship of certain parts thereof.

The filledcans without any caps or heads thereon are delivered to the machine by means of a continuously moving belt or conveyer 1. They are taken from this by a continuously moving turret 2 and conveyed to a cap applying and securing means consecured to a sufficient extent, so that when they are given an intermittent movement,

the contents thereof will not be slop-ped out They are then fed to a finishing header or seamer which employs an intermittent can presenting and feeding movement.

By the machine as herein shown I have thus combined the advantages of a continuous movement, as applied to the can before the caps have been secured in place, with the advantages which are inherent in an intermittent feed movement in the header or seamer, without the disadvantages of a probability of discharging some of the contents which would be caused by an intermittent, movement applied to the filled cans before applying the heads, and at the same time et the simplicity of construction and reliability and rapidity of operation which is associated with the intermittent feed movement for performing the beading down or seaming of the edges of the cap.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a can heading mechanism, in combination, a mntinuously rotative'can feeding mechanism, a cap feeding mechanism synchronously rotated with-said-can feeding mechanism and carrying the caps in positions alined with and above the open ends of the cans, a second can receiving and feeding mechanism rotated synchronously with and receiving the cans from the first named can feeding mechanism, cap carriers similarly rotated and means for operating said cap carriers to first supportingly engage the caps carried by the cap feeding mechanism, carry said caps to the can placing position and then place the caps upon the cans, g

2. In a can heading mechanism, in combination, a continuously rotative can feeding mechanism, a cap feeding mechanism synchronously rotated withsaid can feeding mechanism and carryin the caps in positions alined with and above the open ends of the cans, a second can receiving and. feeding mechanism rotated synchronously with and receiving the cans from the first named can feeding mechanism cap carriers similarly rotated and means or operating said cap carriers to first supportinglyengage the caps carried by the cap feeding mechanism, carry said caps to the can placing position and then place the caps upon the cans, a can truing means comprising truing jaws carried by the second can feeding mechanism and a rotative head carrying complemental can truing jaws which compress the can at the time of placing the cap thereon.

3. In a can heading machine, in combination, a uniformly rotative can, feeding mechanism, a, rotative cap feeding mechanism synchronized with said can feeding mechanism and carrying the caps alined with and above the cans, a second continuously rotative turret headhavi aws which receive the cans from the rst' feeding mechanism, cap transferring and placing devices carried by the said turret, means for operating said; cap transferring and placing devices to first pick up a cap from the cap feeding mechanism, carry it clear of the said feeding mechanism and then place it upon the can, a truing 'head cooperatingv with said turret at the time when the cap is placed upon the can, and a cap crimping bar engaging the cap to fix it upon the can as the can is carried forward by the turret head.

4.' A can heading machine having two successively acting can conveying means acting to forward the cans in a common plane, a cap applying means comprising a carrier movable with the first of the canconveying means, a cap transferring and placing means movable with the second can conve ing means and provided with means for 1i ing and holding the caps, and means for reciprocating said cap l1fti member to remove the cap from said carrler and for placing I it upon. the can.

5. A can heading machine having two successively acting can conveying means acting to forward the cans in a common plane, 

